Coke to Salarymen: Man Up

For years, canned coffee has been a standby for Japan’s legions of blurry-eyed salarymen in need of a morning or midday caffeine fix. And in the world’s biggest market for canned coffee, it’s the Japanese unit of Atlanta, Georgia-based Coca-Cola Co. that leads the way with – what else? – its “Georgia” brand, which debuted in 1985.

Associated Press

Daniel Sayre, president of Coca-Cola’s Japan unit, at a press conference in Tokyo Feb. 15.

But Coke says Georgia sales have been flat of late, and the average age of buyers has crept up into the mid-40s. Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Coca-Cola Japan president Daniel Sayre said No. 1-ranked Georgia faces stiff competition in the Japanese can coffee market precisely “because it is so profitable and so big.” With a 34% share of a market that’s worth about 700 billion yen a year, according to data compiled by trade journal Nikkan Keizai Tsushin, Georgia is certainly a big target for Japanese rivals like Suntory with its “Boss” brand canned coffee to aim at.

Jolted into action, and seeking to convert a new generation of younger consumers to the Georgia habit, Coke has come out with a provocative new slogan for Georgia: “Sorry, I’m a man.”

In the original Japanese, the meaning is less an excuse of sorts than an unapologetic statement to the effect that boys will be boys, according to Coke officials.

Coke said the campaign is based on a concept called “finding self,” divined from extensive market research into the psyche of young Japanese males. That came from both focus group testing and also a new technique: brain wave sensors attached to the heads of some young males for a more advanced form of analysis. “We were able to monitor neural reactions that some people couldn’t find the words to express orally,” said Kohji Shinohara, a senior vice president in charge of the Georgia brand at Coca-Cola Japan.

Launched last month, the “Sorry” campaign is being run out not only via traditional media such as television commercials, but also social media like Twitter, stoking debate across Internet platforms in Japan. The TV ads depict groups of mostly young males goofing off (usually in front of one or more beautiful women), while Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” plays in the background. In one scene, a throng of teenage boys are shown pressed up against the door of a school infirmary, ogling the long legs of a school nurse who is administering a routine check-up to one of their schoolboy pals. Just as the boy patient sees them, the group of embarrassed lads tumbles into the nurse’s room.

“We wanted to empathize with average salarymen by showing they have more than one side to their personalities,” said Tomoki Shimamura, senior manager of consumer marketing for the Georgia brand. “Sometimes they can be silly, cute or even great.”

The new slogan accompanies a rebranding strategy for the two main varieties of Coke’s canned coffee: Georgia European, a “sophisticated” brew in a golden can aimed at Japanese men in their 30s and 40s, and Georgia Emerald Mountain Blend, a hipper drink made with beans from Emerald Mountain in Columbia which targets 20-30 something males. The two sub-brands have spiffy new can designs–featuring a royal crest for European and a modernist mountain range for Emerald–along with brand new re-sealable screw topped versions, so sips can be saved and savored later.

Coke has attempted to expand the Georgia brand outside Japan as well. It started sales in South Korea in May 2008 and in the U.S. last year.

While Japan’s market for beverages has begun to shrink due to aging demographics–something affecting many industries–Coke executives express confidence they can continue to grow their Japanese business for canned coffee and other drinks. “Japan’s (outdoor) vending machine market looks saturated,” said Coca-Cola Japan CFO Vikas Tiku. “But the indoor market is still so underserved and we intend to go after that aggressively.”

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